SATURDAY MORNING PHYSICSThe Origin of Life: Chemistry As The Driver of Our Evolution

Life has an origin shrouded in mystery. Ever since the first human developed an awareness of self did we wonder where we came from. Modern science has traced our origins to the beginning of Earth as a planet with liquid water, giving rise to a primordial soup that contained all the ingredients of a modern organism. How these chemicals assembled into ever more complex life forms can be understood as an inevitable result of an energy-driven Darwinian evolution from molecules to single cells, the human body and even modern society. This lecture will sketch out a best-guess scenario of the stages of this journey and suggest that ancient “molecular fossils” from it still survive in our body’s cells today.

Detailed Information
All talks are free and refreshments will be served. Visitor parking for the seminars (Central Campus) is across the street from the Dennison Building in the U-M Church Street structure. There is a $2.00 parking charge implemented by U-M Parking Services.

Contact Information
For more information regarding the Saturday Morning Physics series, see the Physics Department website, or call 734.764.4437.